One Step Closer To Heaven
by freeze1
Summary: After years of seperation, Akizuki Meiko and Miwa Satoshi finally meet again...Just a sweet little Meiko/Miwa fic that I wrote because there aren't enough! R/R!


A/N: …Yes, I'm a rather horrible person. I have more pieces of fanfiction to finisht than I have homework assignments to do (and that's saying a lot), and here I am starting a completely different one. But it's only a oneshot that took me, like, an hour, so it's not that dreadfull, right? ^^;. I couldn't help it, though. Once you've watched 76 consecutive episodes of Marmalade Boy, you'll want to write some fanfiction, too. Plus, I am absolutely 100% against Meiko/Namura *sorry all Meiko/Namura fans!* and believe that Meiko/Satoshi were meant for each other! ^___^. So, this is my short, sweet, waffy fic that was basically an experiment to see if I could write Marmalade Boy. I'm pretty happy with it. Tell me what you think~! 

Disclaimer: Marmalade Boy is property of Wataru Yoshizumi. Meiko, Satoshi and all the other characters are not mine. *But if they were, Namura would die a long and painful death…*snicker*…* 

Her smile. He remembered her smile. How she never let it get away from her, how she protected it with all her heart, and how she would only allow it to show when her heart got the best of her. 

And when he had seen it for the first time, that bright, serene smile, he hadn't been able to look away. He had known, from that moment, that deep inside his gut, he would need to see that smile again. The instant it went away, he felt the greatest need to bring it back. 

He stared at her, his hands dug deep into the depths of his pockets. He found himself frowning, tracing the corners of her mouth with his eyes. They were turned upwards, a gesture of politeness and goodwill… 

…But she was not smiling. Her face looked cheerful enough, waving to some faded face who was walking away. But he could see the strain, no matter how much she thought she was hiding it. 

His eyes bore into her flesh, his eyebrows narrowing. He leaned against the lampost as she sat on the bench, and though he was only across the street, they were miles apart. 

Her face was not the same. Not the younger, livelier face that he had memorized all those years ago. Things were different. She was different. 

He was different, too. 

Clenching his teeth, he began to walk across the street as the light flashed green. His plan had been to find her, and then to let her go. 

But his feet wouldn't listen. 

He found himself approaching the bench where she sat, tapping her slender foot on the cement with impatience, glancing towards the town clock. 

"Nice to see you again, Akizuki." Her head turned, dark emerald eyes meeting cobalt. 

He lost his ability to speak. To think. To breath. The world turned gray, and she glowed. Only her. 

"M…Miwa-san?" 

"The one and only." He nearly croaked out the words. 

"I haven't seen you in the longest time! How have you been?" Empty. Utterly and hopelessly empty. 

"As good as a business man can be, I suppose." He shrugged to prove his point, feeling all of a sudden a great urge to act like a child again. "How about you?" 

"Fine." Her voice sold her out, its less-confident tone rising above that of friendly conversation. 

"No you haven't, Akizuki. Something's been troubling you." Glancing at him for a moment, she turned her gaze back to the clock, and started the tapping of her foot again. This time, more impatiently. 

"I can assure you, Miwa-san, there is nothing wrong. I'm merely frustrated that the bus is late and I want to go home." He grinned. He hadn't grinned in a while. 

"And who are you going home to?" 

"A package of frozen chicken in my icebox." The grin vanished. 

And as he had only done a very chosen few times before, he was left speechless. A troublesome thing, for one who speaks for a living. However, he couldn't find the words to speak to her. 

"Shinichi isn't waiting for me." She heard his thoughts without him having to utter a word. 

"Shinichi is dead." 

There was another silence, one that seemed to last an eternity. His hand clenched and loosened, clenched and loosened without him being able to control it. Sweat dripped from his brow, appearing without any warning. He wanted to say something, anything that would make her feel better. 

But she was so far away from him, so far that if he uttered a word it would be lost in the wind before it ever reached her. 

"The doctors said it was cancer. Something that neither of us noticed, since it came so quickly. He's been gone for over a year now." 

"W-Why didn't you tell us?" His voice was hoarse. She didn't look at him. 

"I couldn't tell Miki. I didn't want that kind of pity from her. I didn't want to make her sad." 

"But Koishikawa has Yuu's shoulder to cry on! You have no one!" 

He would have done anything to take those words back. He hadn't meant to get out of hand. 

And there he was, watching her break before his very eyes. 

"I…I know…" Her hair caressed her face, blown about in the mid-week evening wind. She looked so vulnerable, so scared. 

She never wanted to show her emotions. But now she was an open book to him, and all he wanted to do was read. 

"Come here," he whispered. Her eyes widened, and he felt that he might never be able to look away. 

"Come here and cry." Because what else can you do for a broken angel, but let her cry? 

Her arms around him. Her face against his shoulder. Her tears, spiraling down his suit jacket. 

The smell of her hair, the sound of her voice, the touch of her skin. He pulled her to him tightly. 

"You're so cold," he whispered. 

"And you're so warm." 

"You have so many tears, Akizuki. When was the last time you cried?" 

"When it happened. That night, I couldn't sleep. I just cried. I cried all my tears that night, and never cried again." He stroked her hair. 

"Then why are you crying now?" She sniffled. 

"Because tears for him aren't all that I have. And I trust that you'll let these tears fall, no matter how much you may tease me about it later." He grinned again. 

"Well, your eyes are rather read and dead-looking," he joked. She pulled back her face, looking into his eyes. 

She smiled. 

And he knew that he was completely captivated by her, all over again. But that didn't matter. 

Because he had made an angel smile. 

"I know a place that probably makes better chicken than whatever you have in the icebox." 

"Really? My chicken's organic." 

"Well, my chicken is from a nice fast food restaurant where they add more chemicals than you could possibly count, put it more calories than normal and call it organic. What do you say?" 

"To a good friend whom I haven't seen in eight years? I guess I can't avoid it." 

He began to walk, and she walked with him. Not behind him, as she had done in the past, but by his side, her footsteps in line with his. 

Not bad, he thought to himself. Perhaps not the smartest decision, but it doesn't matter if you get hurt. You're willing to fight for her, aren't you? 

And as he looked at her, and saw her smiling back at him… 

A true, genuine smile… 

He knew that he was one step closer to heaven. 

A/N: So, whatdcha thing? Write a response! Please! ^__^; 

Oh, and "Akizuki" is Meiko's last name, and "Miwa" is Satoshi's. They call each other by last names, which is more formal in Japan. I used this because this is how they talk to each other in the series, so I thought I'd keep it realistic. 


End file.
